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This sweet sophisticated summer wedding produced and designed by Alexandra Kolendrianos took advantage of a perfect summer setting — the lush garden area of the Hotel Bel-Air. Before a backdrop of a floral chuppah designed by White Lilac Inc., these two lovebirds were wed while two other lovebirds — the hotel’s resident swans — floated by in the garden’s stream.

From the ceremony area, guests made their way into a tent set on the main grounds for dinner. The interior was draped in blush chiffon. Our lighting design Lonnie Thompson and his team softly illuminated the perimeter and tent ceiling and finished the look with a white-on-white break up pattern on the dance floor. After dinner, the 200 guests moved into the ballroom for an after party. Once again, soft lighting — this time in amber and pink — gave the room a glow while incredible floral “chandeliers” provided their own design illumination!

The three distinct looks were perfect for breaking up the evening into three memorable moments for all, but most importantly, for the wedding couple.

No more waiting. We can confidently declare that this was the wedding of the year, 2017. Produced by Mindy Weiss, designed by Edgar Zamora from Revelry Event Designers with thousands of flowers from Mark’s Garden, and lighting by Images by Lighting, the event took place at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland; the same venue for the Oscars, on the same stage even. This should be your first clue as to the magnitude and scale of the event and the wedding lighting involved!

Guests arrived at the ceremony area via a red carpet lined with opulent floral decor. After everyone found their seats on the stage, the ceremony began with a stunning reveal of the couple. At the farthest end of the long aisle, heavy red velvet curtains opened. At this point, the wedding lighting in the room dimmed, the strings began to play, and the lighting illuminated the bride as she walks down a golden runway. It stayed with her as she walked toward a ceremonial altar designed with a huge arch festooned with white flowers and gold accents. During the ceremony the wedding lighting remained focused brighter on the altar area. As they exited, the lighting once again followed them, dimming as they left the room.

The reception in the ballroom of the theater was just as jaw dropping as the ceremony. It was marked with huge centerpiece of red roses, a ceiling of crystals and crystal chandeliers, a stunning custom stage on which Lady Gaga and Jason Derulo would perform and ballet dancers on smaller stages performing among the guest seating.

For a lighting designer, working at the Dolby Theatre is a dream. Its extensive truss structure and preset fixtures for the Oscars enable us to do sophisticated lighting effects. Even so, it still requires huge hours of precise planning and a large, experienced, professional team. In this case, those hours were put in by our senior lighting designer Ray Thompson. After the initial design was done, he assembled and oversaw a team of union members, technical directors and master electricians, most of whom were on site for the full five days of setup.

The results were sparkling! In addition to room and stage lighting, we also projected a leaf pattern on the huge rose centerpieces to add depth and shadow. And to make the crystals sparkle even more, we set up targeted lighting set in a slow wave motion. The entire room crackled with energy of light, love and high style at the wedding of the year!

On a hot night in Los Angeles, winter was finally here. The city was lit up for the Game of Thrones premiere of Season Seven, what was in essence the beginning of the end of this popular HBO series. The tribe assembled was not only those who had walked frozen tundra to the Wall, flown dragons and battled for the throne, but those event professionals who have produced all the premiere events for the series.

Over the years, this tribe, ie team, led by designer Billy Butchkavitz, has included video mapping by Bart Kresa Design, lighting by Images by Lighting, rentals by Town and Country Event Rentals, and design works such as frozen thrones to vinyl wrapping by Agile Eye Solutions. And this year, projection and engineering by WorldStage in partnership with Panasonic was involved. In years’ past, the event has been held at the San Francisco City Hall and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. This year it was held at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

After viewing “Dragonstone,” the first episode in Season Seven, the attendees, a star-studded guest list, made their way across the street to the rooftop of a parking garage that had been transformed into another world, or rather, the many worlds of Game of Thrones. It was populated with some White Walker-esque creatures, Night Kings, and ghost-like characters from the episodes in the form of art installations. Working from sketches from Game of Thrones costume designer, Michele Clapton, Agile Eye created replicas in paper! Our lighting highlighted these installations and other elements such as the larger-than-life bust of the Night King, lounge settings and 3D photo opportunities. Overlooking all of this was a video projection by Bart Kresa that captured the imagination of the event goers, and the attention of the worldwide press.

A truly stunning and modern wedding design for a wedding at The Huntington Library. The monochromatic color palette is a favorite for us, as the drama of lighting really shows up. We also love showing daytime photos (below) to illustrate the drama that lighting can have. No matter what, International Event Company and this team of event professionals set this wedding decor, and its wedding lighting, to STUN!

Premiere lighting is an art. In addition to the red carpet arrival lighting — creating an even, camera-ready lighting for the step-and-repeat outside the event, we also light promotional artwork throughout a premiere event, as well as the event itself, of course. The ambient lighting has to reflect the style of the movie, show, or play, and be moody enough to make the Hollywood crowd look great and feel comfortable. Such was the case of our premiere lighting for HBO’s new documentary, The Defiant Ones. The series focuses on Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, two powerful and iconoclastic music producers. The design by Billy Butchkavitz in black, white and red, featured custom carpeting and upholstery for the furnishings. Bright red chairs, and asymmetrical sculptures placed throughout the clear top tent at Paramount Studios added pops of color drama. A huge projection of the title and the characters by Bart Kresa Design could be seen as guests walked up to the event, as well as through the tent itself. And although our lighting was as big and bold as the event design, in the seating areas, where people actually spend the most time, our lighting became subtle and nuanced to match Billy’s decor. Just a kiss of light on the protea and orchids on central ottomans was all that was needed to highlight their beauty. Now that’s an art! The four-part documentary begins July 9.

A private dinner at the Four Seasons Los Angeles was the perfect example of event lighting Los Angeles style. The show stopper event was a collaboration between designers Nikki Khan of Exquisite Events, Jeff Leatham and Edgar Zamora from Revelry Event Designers. Working with Jennifer Rebello of Four Seasons LA, Nikki’s idea for the evening was to start the cocktail hour at Jeff’s studio at the luxury hotel, then have the guests escorted upstairs for the Four Seasons’ Wetherly Terrace for a sit-down dinner.

For the dinner portion of the evening, our lighting set the mood for a romantic evening meant to evoke modern Parisian sensibilities. The color palette was black and gold accented by flowers in a range of fuchsia and hot pink. The details on the tables were pure decadence and ultra sophisticated. Provided by Borrowed Blu, a layering of beautiful gold chargers with gold and black dinner plates was augmented with black and gold flatware and gold-rimmed stemware. Wildflower Linen custom designed a napkin with a black-and-white geometric design. The menus were designed as booklets and finished with the guests’ names hand written by Calligraphy Katrina. After a three-course meal, the final detail — a French chanteuse — made the illusion of Paris in Los Angeles simply “parfait!”

Original programming. High definition. Full color. Groundbreaking. All of this describes not only HBO, but the events that Billy Butchkavitz has been producing for the channel since 1994.

Now, with the design and production of his two final Game of Thrones premieres looming on the horizon, we thought this was a good time for a Designer Profile on Billy and look back at some of his epic event stories of light, pattern and color. And, total disclaimer — we are happy to say we’ve had a supporting role in many of them!

A wandering troubadour of design, Billy roams the globe and in his travels he soaks in the fabric (literally) of different cultures, bringing back memories of color and swatches of texture and patterns which he then translates into wildly Technicolor “stories” for those HBO events. But these stories weren’t always so epic.

“When I was first involved with HBO, there were no large-scale events,” Billy says. “They were usually held in a suite at a hotel. We grew together.” HBO’s Golden Globe after-awards events, which Billy designs each year, found a home poolside at the Beverly Hilton Hotel where they are held each January. In the early years, the Emmy events moved to Spago in Beverly Hills, expanding there until they spilled out onto the street in front, and the parking lot in back with tenting. In 2003 HBO moved the events to a fully custom tent frame in the courtyard of the Pacific Design Center, and Billy’s canvas expanded in size, and in color.

“I’m all about color,” he says. “I love color and pattern. I usually start with two colors and add from there,” he says.

[Note: All photo information at end]

BUILDING THE EVENT TEAM

His process begins with meeting with the same tight team of professionals he’s had on almost every project. For his tents and custom carpeting, he relies on Town & Country Event Rentals. Each year for the Emmy after-parties, he orders a 100-by-100-foor clear vinyl top and sidewalls in a new custom tint to complement his design as well as a carpet to match the texture he wants to highlight.

Texture is also a big part of the lighting design and we meet early on with Billy to discuss those design elements as well as venue logistics and time line.

“One thing that makes Billy’s productions the success they are is the level of organization and detail that goes into pre-planning,” says Images by Lighting’s Curt Stahl who has provided the lighting design at all of Billy’s HBO events. “He has a vision and understands the execution process on all levels from construction to rentals and decor. In our meetings Billy shares his vision through story boards, pictures and samples of materials that will be used such as metals, fabric and carpet. These are the tools we use to inspire our lighting design. It’s a great collaboration.”

Collaboration with his team and knowledge of the brand underlines Billy’s success. “HBO knows I understand what wants to achieve,” he says. “I present my designs in this light and get approval. I show them what I’m doing and there is trust. There is always a budget in place. It’s setup well in advance. I’m in it for the long haul, not to make all my money on one event. My goal is to make them happy.”

FINDING THE IDEAL CLIENT

So how did he get such a dream client? “I was simply in the right place at the right time,” he says.

With a degree in broadcast journalism from Temple University’s School of Communications in Philadelphia, Billy headed to Hawaii for the waves and an internship at a local TV news station. The internship expanded into set design for local advertising campaigns along with stage design for hotels and resorts throughout the island. “They kept asking me to do more and I kept saying yes,” he recalls. This eventually led to a job with a catering/event firm. “It happened fast,” he says. “My first breakout event was in honor of Prince Phillip. Between 1987 and 1993 I began doing corporate and society events. My first international event was in 1990 and in 1994 HBO and I met in Hawaii.”

“I just always want a look that no one else has,” he says. Certainly, that’s been the case with the premieres for Game of Thrones. While not as in-depth, they have been just as unique as the Emmy and Golden Globe after-parties.

In fact, one could say they have run from hot to cold. In 2015, Billy asked us to bring a hot, golden glow to the San Francisco City Hall Rotunda and then in 2016, we worked in all blues and white to design a freezing cold winter look at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Whatever he has planned for the premiere of Season 7 this year, you know it won’t be lukewarm!

Clearly, Billy Butchkavitz and HBO have a lot in common and understand what it takes to create something truly original — having a vision, and then committing fully to it.

Photo Information [from top down]:

All photos by Gabor Ekecs

Game of Thrones Season Five Premiere, 2015
HBO Emmys After Party, 2015
HBO After Party Emmys, 2014
Game of Thrones Season Six Premiere, 2016
Game of Thrones Season Six Premiere, 2016
Game of Thrones Season Six Premiere. 2016
HBO After-Party Golden Globes, 2016
HBO After Party Emmys, 2013
HBO After-Party Emmys, 2016

Designer Billy Butchkavitz gave away no clues of how the final season of HBO’s mysterious “The Leftovers” would play out. While the show grapples with how and why two percent of the population suddenly goes missing, there was no shortage of guests at this Los Angeles event, and nothing was leftover in the simple design Billy created in the main theater of the Avalon Nightclub. Our style of Los Angeles event lighting included pinspots, textured projections and ambient washes, as well as the red carpet lighting.

The runway lighting that powers the Fashion Institute of Design (FIDM) Debut each year boasts some impressive statistics … three multi-media runway shows over the course of two nights, 3,000 students from around the country brought in for each show, and a massive cast of models, dancers and talent, guided by fashion designer, and FIDM alum, Nick Verreos. The lighting it takes also boast impressive stats … 450 feet of truss, 230 conventional lights, 30 intelligent lights, 30 LEDS, 96 channels of changes. Add to this, a changeover on Saturday for a gala event that night … tables take the place of the theater seats and a seated dinner and yet another fashion show takes place.

For the five-day installation and set up, every March for the past 13 years, our lighting designer, Ray Thompson, and the team of Images by Lighting have taken up residence for the week of FIDM at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica to make this all happen.

On Monday, the truss is installed. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the lights are blocked and focused and there is a dry run of the show. Thursday is the dress rehearsal with the first show at 5:30. Friday night there are two shows and on Saturday, the sit-down gala event.

FIDM Debut is divided into segments each with its own graphic design look and lighting design. After an opening performance, the first fashion design section is called Chairing Styles, a creative collaboration between students in three FIDM majors — Textile Design, Fashion Design and Interior Design. Next, collections from graduating students from FIDM’s Theatre Costume Design Program debut against a backdrop of rock ‘n’ roll. The runway show ends with the collections of the top graduating students; a debut show of graduating students from FIDM’s Advanced Studio Fashion Design Program. From a line of children’s wear and resort and men’s wear, the lighting and graphics reflect each designer’s color palette, personality and inspiration.

We love doing this show as it’s always about more than runway lighting – the FIDM Debut sheds light on the energy, wonder and excitement of a creative profession and the future of the young attendees.